A seminar on the history of children's television, and how it grew from post-war TV (and a reason for families to buy a TV set), to the marketing and branding juggernaut it has become. Plus, fun links to some of the best kids TV shows ever. Yay, nostalgia!

1. CHILDREN’S TELEVISION
The Changing Face of Children’s Television | Norma Pecora
Home is Where the Brand is | Sarah Banet-Weiser
FTVS 512 | September 22, 2011
Rachel Brethauer

2. THE 1950S
TV restores family unity in post-war America

3. WHAT HAPPENED?
Television in the 1950s was like the
iPad of today—everybody wanted
one.
Children’s TV shows aired during
the evening to encourage the family
to gather around the set.
The first interactive TV show aired:
“Winky Dink and You”

4. THE 1960S
Good Saturday Morning!

5. WHAT HAPPENED?
TV shifted from singular sponsorship to
participating sponsorship. (Hello,
commercials!)
The “TV is good for the family” pitch was
a success. Kids shows no longer needed to
occupy prime time slots, and were moved
to someplace (a lot) cheaper: Saturday
mornings.
Hanna-Barbera simplified the animation
process, making it far more cost-effective.
For example: “Scooby-Doo”

6. THE 1970S
Brought to you by the letters P-B-S

7. WHAT HAPPENED?
“Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” and “Sesame
Street” succeeded on PBS, proving that
preschoolers would watch high-quality
educational programming.
The networks completely ignored this, to
chase the golden goose of children’s TV
demos: 6- to 11-year-olds.
Government legislation in the late ‘70s
created a large number of independent TV
stations with many programming hours to
fill.

8. THE 1980S
Saturday Morning Redux, Cable Gets the Hookup,
Baby’s First VCR

9. WHAT HAPPENED?
The new independent TV stations filled
their programming hours with cheaply
made first-run animation created in
partnership with toy companies.
“Jem! And the Holograms”
“Care Bears”
“G.I. Joe”
Aggressive marketing to children continued
with the explosion of the children’s home
video market and widespread adoption of
cable TV.

10. THE 1990S
Teens, Tweens, and Teletubbies

11. WHAT HAPPENED?
Commercial children’s TV broadened to cover
children of all ages, from pre-preschool to late-
teens.
Teen girls contributed to the creation of new
netlets like The WB. And shows like Dawson’s
Creek sold them clothes by J. Crew and American
Eagle.
The Three Hour Rule required the networks to
air three hours of educational programming per
week.
Dawson Leery: Crying all the
way to the bank ABC brought in shows from parent company
Disney, CBS brought in shows from fellow Viacom
property Nickelodeon, and NBC aired shows
from Discovery.

12. THE 2000S AND BEYOND
TV and the Internet: It’s complicated

13. WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Kids today engage with television in a
completely different way, in a number of
different formats. Or, it’s more than just TV.
Audiences are no longer just passive. iCarly
viewers can create videos that may be used
in the fictional webcast on the actual
program.
Web 2.0 and social media properties for TV
shows make you write sentences like the
one above.
Traditional models of understanding children
as media watchers no longer apply.

14. POLKAROO!
Just a little breather!

15. GENRE THEORY AND CHILDREN’S TV
Or, age is more than just a number
For example, adventure stories
for preschoolers must have
uncomplicated plots, bright
colors, and simple language.
Fun fact: Nick, Jr. used to air just one episode
of “Blue’s Clues” a week—in the same time
slot every day.

16. EXAMINING THE GOLDEN GOOSE
TV for kids age 6-11
Kids this age are immensely
curious about the world, and
are interested in...action
adventures with heroes who
are involved in morality plays
between good and evil.

17. GENDER PROGRAMMING
TV for kids age 6-11
The Real Ghostbusters My Little Pony
The hero as our equal The heroine as our better half
Hierarchical group Democracy of peers
Emotions masked Emotions valued as truth
Playful attitude about work Play put aside to save others
Fear as enjoyable Overcoming fears
Blast enemy away Persuade enemy to change
Violent contact Moral persuasion
Technology Nature
Urban setting Pastoral setting
Dystopia Utopia

18. OLDER CHILDREN
Bringing cult status to TV
Most older kids watch adult programming and MTV.
But they also fall deeply in love with shows like:

19. HOCUS POCUS ALIMAGOCUS!
Just a little breather!

20. MARKETING AND CHILDREN’S TV
There’s nothing new under the sun
Marketing has been served up
to kids since the advent of TV.
It continues on a broader scale
in the post-network era.
It will continue to evolve
alongside the media children
Fun fact: In the first four years after his
use in the practice of watching
introduction SpongeBob SquarePants television.
merchandising earned over $3 billion.
No wonder he’s so happy.